There is an objective to develop tourism infrastructure and increase the level of tourism in Armenia. Economy minister Gevorg Papoyan announced this at Thursday's Cabinet session of the government, as he presented the draft decision on approving the strategic program for tourism development for 2026-2030 in Armenia.

This will enable to have more tourists and a wider and more diversified market in Armenia in five years, for which it is indispensable for the country to position itself as a tourist crossroads—as an appealing, high-quality, safe, peaceful, competitive, and cozy tourist destination, Papoyan added.

The three main development directions envisaged by the aforesaid strategic program are cultural, gastro—cuisine, wine and Armenian brand, as well as adventure, including winter tourism. There is also an objective to develop agritourism, MICE—an acronym for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions—tourism, religious, medical, and health tourism.

The strategic plan has set four main objectives: the first is the economic direction, which involves using the economic potential of tourism in Armenia in full, contributing to economic progress through reforms in the tourism sector. The second direction is increasing Armenia’s international appeal, which aims to raise the image of the country as an appealing tourist country, emphasizing hospitality and safety. The third is ensuring quality, which also involves providing distinctive, exclusive experiences. And the fourth is the social direction, within the framework of which there is a need to focus on increasing the number of Armenia’s workforce, providing a high level of services, as well as promoting tourism education.

"As a result of the implementation of the strategic plan, we plan, for example, to have at least 3 million inbound tourist visits by 2030, receive about $3.8 billion in revenue from tourism, of which $750 million can go to the state budget, have 4.5 million domestic tourist visits, create an additional 20,000 jobs on the account of the sector," said the Armenian minister of economy.